The recent advances in data throughput for mobile wireless communication devices provides a myriad of opportunities to add functionality and provide new services not possible with slower data rate equipment. Consequently, the data rates necessary to support streaming video and voice simultaneously are being realized thereby allowing the video functionality in portable wireless handsets.
Some devices provide video streaming both to and from the device using a display to present the video image and a built-in or attached camera to store and then transmit the images to the intended recipient. With lower data rate devices, small file size images and video clips may be received and or transmitted by the wireless commutation device. Third generation wireless devices provide video streaming to and from a single intended recipient.
Other devices provide dispatch operation mode for voice interchange in two way radio, half duplex or simplex format that allows for two-way conversations but one user at a time. One example has been termed a push to talk mode similar to a walkie-talkie where the push of a button opens the microphone for transmission. However these communication modes are available for voice and do not provide full duplex communications.
Management however of multiple communication streams such as during group call or a conference all is limited by the size of the display and the formats in which the communications are being presented. Presenting communications to the user when multiple formats, such as a combination of voice only and video communications is used, makes presenting the communications awkward as displays on portable deices limit the amount of information that may be presented to the user at a given time.
What is needed is a method for presenting multiple communications on a single device that is intuitive and easy to determine which communication stream has the active conversation. The various aspects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more fully apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the following Detailed Description thereof with the accompanying drawings described below.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.